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Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey was born in 1890, and was the second of the three children of Mortimer Wimsey and Honoria Lucasta Delagardie. Early Life Peter led a relatively carefree childhood, and, indeed, was the favourite of his mother, the Duchess of Denver, rather than her other son, Gerald Christian Wimsey. The relationship with his father, the 15th Earl of Denver, however, was more estranged, with him seeking a fatherly figure in a old poacher who lived on the edge of the family estate. The Duke and Duchess were both overjoyed when Lady Mary Wimsey was born in 1895. Another confidant for Peter was his uncle on his mother's side, Paul Delagardie, who, beginning in in 1907, instructed him on the ways of the world, lessons which he gladly employed in later life. Peter was educated at Eton College and later the Balliol College in Oxford, being accepted in 1909. Although he met with no distinction in the former, the latter saw him graduate with a first-class degree in history in 1912.This era also merited his first degree of fame: he was an outstanding cricketer, and his performance in 1911 was remembered years afterwards. The joy inherent here, however, was tempered when his father broke his neck while hunting. His brother, Gerald, became the 16th Earl of Denver. After leaving Oxford, Wimsey met and fell in love with Barbara, much to the chagrin of Uncle Paul Delagardie, who felt Peter was too young to be in such a serious relationship. They quickly became engaged. Wimsey's nephew, Lord Saint-George, was born around this time. However, this happy state could not last long, for, in 1914, World War I broke out. Service Wimsey hurried to aid the British Army, but was forced to break off his engagement with Barbara, in case of an injury or death. In his absence, Barbara married another officer in 1916, and the two never met again. Lord Peter joined a Rifle Brigade, and slowly gravitated to the position of Major. Thanks to his fluency in the German language and his proficiency with codes, he was made an Intelligence Officer, doing sterling work for British Intelligence. He once infiltrated a staff room of a German officer, and became notorious for his use of the Playpen cypher. After the end of his spying service behind enemy lines, however, he became a line officer once more. His proficiency in commanding his troops made him extremely popular with the men, and in particular with his Sergeant and batman, Mervyn Bunter. They agreed that if they survived the war Bunter should find Wimsey and renew their relationship. Tragically, in 1918 Wimsey was wounded by artillery fire near Caudry in France. He had a mental breakdown caused by shell-shock, and was sent home. In recovering at Duke's Denver, he found himself unable to issue orders to servants, associating the act with causing the death of the person to whom the order was given. Bunter, having been discharged, arrived, and took over Lord Peter's care, becoming his valet, and helping him to get through the breakdown. They moved to 110A Piccadilly W1, where Wimsey recovered, losing most remnants of his condition. However, he occasionally had relapses in later life, especially when he was instrumental in securing a person's conviction which resulted in death. Detective Work Wimsey's first successfully solved crime was that of the recovery of the Attenbury Emeralds in 1921. It was in this case that he met the then Sergeant Charles Parker of Scotland Yard, who became a great friend of Lord Peter. His detective work was brought to home in 1923, when his brother was charged with murdering their sister Mary's fiance. However, Lord Peter was able to clear both of them, with the upshot that Lady Mary and Parker fell in love. It was also around this time that Wimsey began to enlist the services of Miss Climpson, who ran an employment agency for women, using the powers of gossip to allow her agents to find useful information. Throughout the 1920s Wimsey had relationships with several women, and was therefore the subject of gossip all around Europe. In particular, he encountered a celebrated soprano. This was curtailed in December 1927, however, when Wimsey faked his own death, supposedly when hunting game in Tanganyika. This was in order to infiltrate a criminal society and break them up- a task accomplished after two years. In 1929 Wimsey met and fell in love with Harriet Vane, when she was on trial for murder. In classic Wimsey style, he cleared Harriet's name, but also fell in love with her. Lord Peter's proposal was rejected by her. Nevertheless, he continued to court her, and in 1935 the couple married. They had three children: Bredon Delagardie Peter Wimsey (b. 1936), Roger Wimsey (b. 1938) and Paul Wimsey (b.1940). Wimsey wrote two books: one, an essay on pre-fifteenth century books, was called Notes on the Collecting of Incunabula. The other concerned the criminal's methods, and was called The Murderer's Vade-Mecum. Category:People Category:Detectives Category:Pages